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I have a new idea for movie theaters Across america. (1 Viewer)

Adam Portrais

Stunt Coordinator
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Sep 21, 2002
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Adam Portrais
Now many will not like what I have to say and others may call me a genius, but I have an idea for a new type of movie theater, one for serious movie fans.
I love going to the movies but when I go I run into several problems.
One: People coming in late. I think that if you can't get there by the previews you shouldn't be there. If you rushed to get to the theater at the last second then you didn't plan to see this movie and need to pick another time or day.
Two: During the film people getting up and leaving (sometimes more than once). If you leave how will you know what happened? When you leave you disturb others and that's rude. I think that if you can't do what you have to do before the movie you shouldn't be there.
Three: People talking. What happened to the days where an usher would ask you to stop talking and if you didn't ask you to leave? If you have to discuss the film while it's going on then go somewhere else or at least do it at such a low volume that no one but the person next to you can hear you (it is possible).
Four: Children in the theater. Parents shouldn't be allowed to take a child into a film that is not intended for a small child. Talking, screaming and running around is not acceptable in a theater.
Five: Cell phones and pagers. Nothing is worse than right in the middle of the climax of a film some jackass's cell phone or pager goes off (and doesn't always seem to be that one annoying Nokia ring, that just screams "Look at me, I'm an asshole!").
My idea is for a new type of theater. One that will keep people who just "like" movies from coming in. But how do we do that you ask? Well first we do what some may not like but I think is necessary, raise the ticket price. I know what you're thinking: "Ticket prices are already too high, why do you want to raise them?" Well the truth of the matter is that "regular" movie goer will not pay more then what they are paying now and will not go to the new higher priced theater. But you will be paying for more that just a movie in this new type of movie theater, you'll be paying for a pleasant movie going experience (something that is hard to come by in theaters today). And the old saying is true: You get what you pay for."
These new theaters will have rules and regulations that other movie theaters don't or only claim to have. This theater will only allow you to purchase tickets at a certain time (i.e. no last second ticket sales and stragglers coming in five minutes into the movie). Ushers will not just be there to collect your ticket but to enforce rules and stand "guard" at the entrance to the theater (you'll find out why soon).
Once the movie has started no one else will be allowed in. Like I said before, if you can't do what you have to do before the movie starts then you don't need to be there. If you do not get to the theater in time you will not be allowed to enter and will have to leave without a refund. This will ensure that only serious movie goers who care about the movie (and movies in general) will attend.
You may leave the theater, but only once, and you will not be allowed back in. I know that there may be a case when you have to go to the bathroom or some sort of emergency comes up but once you're gone there's no coming back and disturbing others.
No pagers or cell phones will be allowed. If you have one and it goes off an usher will escort you out of the theater and ask you never to come back again. This will be the most hard and fast rule.
If you are talking during the film loud enough so others can hear you an usher will ask you to stop. If you continue the usher will escort you out of the film and you will not receive a refund. This will be the second hardest rule enforced.
No children will be admitted to movies where they are not the untidied audience. This is first and foremost an adult movie theater, but if a child looks to be of reasonable temperament then the child will be allowed in. If the child is disruptive to others during the film the child and parent or guardian will be asked to leave without a refund.
These may sound like harsh rules and you might think of me as the Hitler of the movie theater but the fact is many people don't go to the movies because of the types of people who go there (read: stupid people who have no respect for the cinema). With these rules and regulations movie goers will have the experience they intend to have. These rules will be hard for some, and those are the exact people we want keep out. For those of us who love the movies and want a pleasant movie going experience these rules will me a piece of cake. But don't think that by just paying more you won't have people who bother you because that's not all you'll get.
Since you are paying more you will get more. More leg room and more comfortable seats. All theaters will have the utmost quality in picture and sound, state of the art. The concessions will be of high quality but not quite as high prices. Everything in the theater will be designed to enhance the experience of the true cinema fan.
Is it a new radical idea that some will love and many will hate? Yes, but that is what it is designed to be.
With all this said I wold like t know what you think. Would you like to see this new form of theater or am I just living in a dream world. Let me know.
Adam Portrais
 

Peter Apruzzese

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Dec 20, 1999
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Peter Apruzzese
Sorry, "dream world" is your answer.

How much would you be willing to pay per ticket? Considering that by using these rules, you'd cut your potential audience down by at least 90%, you'll end up paying around $50 a ticket. And the theater will still lose money, since the studio gets between 75% - 90% of that during the first two weeks of a new movie...
 

Charles J P

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Aug 19, 2000
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Omaha, NE
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CJ Paul
Dude, get a grip, they're just movies. I fear for the future of mankind with such intolerance of little inconveniences.
 

Inspector Hammer!

Senior HTF Member
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Mar 15, 1999
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Houston, Texas
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John Williamson
Hell, why stop there? Why not have those
guards frisk people as well? If your found to have a stick of Juicy Fruit in your pocket, that's an outside food which is a direct violation of theater rule #12 chapter 6 verse 5, the theater task force will then swarm the offending bastard.

He/she/they will then be quietly escorted to a back room where they're hands will be busted mercilessly with ball pean hammers like in 'Casino',
warned that this sorta shit doesn't happen around here, and thrown out into the alley with the rest of the trash.

All kidding aside, you see what i'm getting at here?

Listen, your heart is definately in the right place Adam and I can appreciate that, lord knows something must be done, but your idea is way too extreme to be considered feasable.
 

Garrett Lundy

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2002
Messages
3,763
1. How much does this really bother you? I'd like to be able to time my arrival so I could see the previews, but avoid the now-mandatory commercials at the beginning of a movie.
2. Wider Isles. I wouldn't mind people leaving if the WHOLE ROW didn't have to leave the isle so people could leave. emergencies and such will always happen...movie buffs or not.
3. Throw half-chewed gummy-bears at them.
4. It's not my fault theaters don't enforce the ratings system. Take it up with the manager.
5. I heard a few months back that some genius (and I use that term in the highest regard), actually invented a room-lining of sorts that would block pager/mobile-phone signals. I hear it was designed for restaurants, but the theater applications would be a godsend.
If you want my advice on a better theater: Dinner theater.
Posh theaters with a table section (real food available, steak, lobster,beer, et cetera) in the back or on a balcony level. And then the primary "theater level" with wide recling leather seats. And I'd even have a smoking section. It would also be equipped with a cell/pager blocking lining, but an optional sound-proof phone booth for calls.
Added bonus: Movie theamed menu specials, just imagine...
Silence of the lambs: Rare veal cutlets and chianti
The Godfather: Canoli & red wine
 

Martin Fontaine

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 15, 2001
Messages
626
My idea is for a new type of theater. One that will keep people who just "like" movies from coming in. But how do we do that you ask? Well first we do what some may not like but I think is necessary, raise the ticket price. I know what you're thinking: "Ticket prices are already too high, why do you want to raise them?" Well the truth of the matter is that "regular" movie goer will not pay more then what they are paying now and will not go to the new higher priced theater. But you will be paying for more that just a movie in this new type of movie theater, you'll be paying for a pleasant movie going experience (something that is hard to come by in theaters today). And the old saying is true: You get what you pay for."
Here in Montreal we have the Paramount Theater that charges $13.50 where most other theaters charge $9.50 or $10... And most of the horror that most people here describe has never or maybe very rarely occured to me there. Although I believe that the price difference might be some Office De La Langue Francaise conspiracy in giving people more reasons to see their movies in french as movies at the Paramount Theater are only in english, the "Filtering" of annoying people works so I always go there whenever the movie I want to see plays there.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Feb 16, 2001
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26,971
Location
Albany, NY
Martin hit on most of my points above, but:
Two: During the film people getting up and leaving (sometimes more than once). If you leave how will you know what happened? When you leave you disturb others and that's rude. I think that if you can't do what you have to do before the movie you shouldn't be there.
Um, what about on call physicans and so forth? I'm actually a proponent of cellphone blocking in theaters but as it stands now, I'd much rather have those who are tied down to cellphone/page and responsibly use vibrate mode slide out and anwser it in the lobby than in the theater. That aside, I reserve the right to leave and take a piss/shit if I need to. Usually I'm able to hold it if the feeling comes, but trust me, a guy slipping out to take a crap is a lot less offensive than a guy shitting/pissing himself in his chair because he was trapped in the theater. And even when you can hold it, sometimes it's so uncomfortable that you're taken out of the movie and then leave and anwser nature so you viewing is comfortable. Personally, I don't notice if people come or leave once the movie starts. I'm watching the film, not the crowd at that point.

EDIT: Fixing UBB Code
 

JamieD

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 5, 2002
Messages
557
:thumbsdown: :rolleyes:
While I think many here will agree with points 3 through 5, though not as miltantly as yourself, points 1 and 2 are rediculous. Some people have no choice with regards to 1 and 2.
On top of that, any theater that acts as if they are doing people a favour by offering movies to them will likely be out of business in a very short period of time.
Actually, rereading your post, you'd be bankrupt in a matter of weeks, I'd imagine.
Broad sweeping generalizations DO. NOT. WORK. So we love movies .. oh sorry .. "cinema" .. that does not mean we're any better than anyone else. Just different.
Oh yes, and edited to add:
Though according to some posters, since I enjoy watching DVDs at home almost as much as going to the theaters, I don't love movies. See what I mean?
 

Mark Pfeiffer

Screenwriter
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Jun 27, 1999
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1,339
I doubt this business could find the money to get started. After all, these terms are extremely customer-unfriendly. Plus, as much as read people's gripes on this board about moviegoing rudeness, I don't observe it nearly to the degree that it's reported. Yes, there are sometimes minor problems, like people occasionally talking or cellphones ringing, but it's rare when a screening is totally ruined by this sort of behavior. (Having attended films nearly 200 times in theaters this year, I have a decent sample size.)

All theaters will have the utmost quality in picture and sound, state of the art.
I know this is important to people at HTF, but I don't know if there are enough to support this. A new theater that opened here a year ago has the best presentation in town, but attendance is, for the most part, pretty miserable. Perhaps location or area overscreening are factors, but this isn't as big of an attraction to as many moviegoers as you'd think, at least in this instance, or at least enough to sustain the business. (From what I've heard, the premium balcony seats, which cost more, sell better than the regular seats, but neither are exactly raking in customers.) It would be the place to go for a quiet moviegoing experience (since virtually no one's there), but people aren't biting.
 

Paul Richardson

Second Unit
Joined
Jun 25, 2000
Messages
412
There's a movie theater here that is for 21 and up (they serve beer and are called "Brewvies"). The 21+ restriction is enough to eliminate 90% of the problems with theater audiences.
 

Edwin Pereyra

Senior HTF Member
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Oct 26, 1998
Messages
3,500
Is it a new radical idea that some will love and many will hate?
Such a theater more or less already exists - the Arclight in Los Angeles. You pay $14 for reserved seats, oversized leather chairs and an usher to ensure your utmost viewing pleasure. I've been there. Its a great place and everyone was well-behaved.

~Edwin
 

Jason Seaver

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Jun 30, 1997
Messages
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GCC AMC has a line of "Premium Theaters" which charge more but offer more amenities - no kids allowed, valet parking, more upscale food available in the lounge, all the newest equipment, etc. I haven't been, seeing as the one in Framingham hasn't been absorbed into the regular theater, it's apparently not a complete failure.

The main problem with such an idea is that there probably aren't enough customers in most areas (other than NYC/LA) for this type of theater to be a multiplex, and running a single-screen first-run theater is a pretty risky proposition - book a show no-one wants to see for a couple of weeks and you're losing some serious money.

I think there's room for specialty theaters, although the "premium" type would only be able to support itself in large cities - NYC, LA, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, maybe Boston, SF, Philadelphia, Seattle. Portland, ME, had a fun place in the Keystone which served food along with second-run, classic, and boutique movies, but it only lasted about five years (sad, really; it was my favorite place to see a movie when I lived there). The Boston area has a couple of great specialty places like the Brattle and Coolidge, but plop either of them down in a smaller metro and they're out of business.

Ever tryied watching a 3h long movie with a Large Soda WITHOUT going to the bathroom somewhere in the middle?
Yes. It's not that hard, really. Of course, a better solution would be not to order such a large soda if you can't drink it and sit through the movie's runtime.
 

Jeff Kleist

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Dec 4, 1999
Messages
11,266
Ever tryied watching a 3h long movie with a Large Soda WITHOUT going to the bathroom somewhere in the middle?
Yup, not an issue

The only time I EVER hada problem was during Superman at Neil Bulk's theater. I drank too much iced tea with dinner, and I was in and out twice

Drove me nuts!
 

Holadem

Senior HTF Member
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Nov 4, 2000
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How about a much simpler proposition: "Luxury" theater with none of the Nazi policies (;)) to keep non movie buffs off. Just yearly or quaterly subscriptions only, no individual movie tickets. I am sure something could be worked out as far a resevation showings are concerned.
Anyway, the point is, only movie nuts like us know for certain they will watch enough movies that year for it to be worth the price. J6P would never pay in advance for a year of screening. Problem solved.
--
Holadem - of course the actual contract could be broken down into monthly payements or something...
 

Jason Seaver

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Holadem,

Like the AMC "MovieWatcher Deluxe" program that was being tested in a few cities before apparently being scuttled because a few studios pulled their films?

The idea sounds good, but I can't imagine how you'd make it work economically in more than a very few cities, especially if you're going to go for "the best of everything", presentation-wise.
 

Joshua FS

Auditioning
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Aug 22, 2002
Messages
7
This being a HOME THEATER forum, I can't help but make the obvious suggestion that one invest in a good system at home. This solution will just about solve all the above mentioned gripes. I think that some of these problems are what partially motive people who take their movies seriously to invest in home theater. If you ask many HT owners they will often say that a reasonably well put togther system can be just as fufilling as going to the theater. Yes, there are limitations like cost and location, but with planning these can overcome with time (I have built up my system over a few years now and I made sure my new apartment had a very "home theaterable" living room.
 

Andrew_Sch

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Dec 30, 2001
Messages
2,153
This is a little off topic, but I just don't see why people go to the bathroom during a movie unless they're dealing with a real, gonna soil the seat emergency. Or more specifically, HOW they bring themselves to get up and leave the movie. Not only is there the inconvenience and awkardness of disturbing everyone else but the fact that you're missing potentially very important parts of a film you paid good money to watch. All this because you either can't go two or three hours without something to drink or can't deal with the feeling of having to piss like a race horse for another half hour? Just doesn't seem worth it to me. Personally, I sat through LOTR:FOTR five times without so much as getting up and only got up to buy more candy and a soda during the intermission of LOA. I smartly waited until intermission to get my soda, having already consumed my popcorn and the first round of candy during the first half.

I guess maybe it's an issue of priorities. When I go to the movies, my main objective is to WATCH THE MOVIE in its entirety, so I generally avoid things that will hamper that objective. I know there's no way than way I'm going to make it through a three-hour movie with 44 OZ. of Coke in my bladder so I usually split one with somebody else or just don't drink at all. To me, depending on Eclipse gum to hold off my thirst for a few hours is much better than missing even a few minutes of the movie.
 

Jeff Pryor

Supporting Actor
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Mar 5, 2002
Messages
653
I like your idea, Adam, but how do you suppose the ushers will be able to enforce the rules without being threatened by the patrons? Give the ushers a stun gun.:emoji_thumbsup: ;)
 

BrandonG

Agent
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Aug 30, 2001
Messages
43
Adam, you read my mind(but my idea wasn't as extreme). In Dallas, we have a theater which allows you to order meals and bring them up to the movie. You can also bring alcohol into the movies. It is a brand new upscale theater right outside of Highland Park($$$).
I figure why not go the extra mile and make it 21 and older only? The area could support it and the theater only has 8 screens so you can have a wide selection.
On the cell phone issue, you would be removed from the theater but given a refund, so as not to anger patrons too much. Hey if you can't read, that's not my problem.
It is good to hear that there are theaters around that are upscale, but I don't think they exist in Dallas. At least I have DLP in Plano.
 

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